What equipment do you need for digital video?

Creating a digital video is easier than ever.People who have very little experience with film making, editing and recording are able to operate digital camcorders with relative ease.If you have no interest in learning about editing your films, than the camcorder is all you need to ensure that your memories are preserved forever.However, those who buy digital recorders are usually looking for more options to go along with it.Digital video recorders offer the consumer options that allow them to take their home movies to a whole new level.The equipment that you need for digital video will depend largely on what you intend to do with your digital video after you have filmed it.The less involved your plans are, the less amount of equipment you will need.

Camcorder (and its onboard accessories)

The camera itself is the most important piece of equipment needed for digital video.There are many different options when it comes to choosing a digital video camcorder.Some are meant for the everyday consumer and can be purchased for several hundred dollars.Other digital video camcorders are used by big budget film makers and incorporate all of the latest technology.These camcorders are obviously much more expensive and in some cases not even available to individuals other than professional film makers.There are digital video camcorders with picture quality and speed capabilities that are truly astonishing and certainly worthy of housing multi-million dollar movies.

Home computer

If you have bought a digital video camcorder with the intent that you will be able to edit your shots you are going to need a computer to work on.Since many of us have a computer at home or at work this piece of equipment doesn't usually need to be bought at the same time as the digital video camcorder.It is smart to make sure that any accessories that you buy, such as software, are going to be compatible with your operating system.When it comes to movie editing, not all computers were created equal.

Software

Computer use and editing software go hand in hand.Usually some piece of editing software will come included with the purchase of your digital video camcorder.This included program is intended for beginners and it may quickly outgrow its usefulness.Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro are two popular choices in digital video editing software.

Microphone

If you are really serious about high quality digital video recordings and specifically the audio in those recordings you may need more audio equipment that just the microphone that is on-board the digital video camcorder.A supplemental microphone can be used to amplify the sound of the lead character in your recoding so that background noises are less noticeable.

Lighting/reflectors

Picture quality may be the first thing that you notice when you are viewing a digital video.Some choose to employ lighting equipment and the use of reflectors in order to get the lighting just right so that the picture quality is better.Some pieces of lighting equipment are very affordable and may be easy to replicate from materials that you already have lying around your house.

Lenses

If you want to achieve a unique look to your digital videos you are probably going to need different kinds of lenses.Zoom lenses are very popular with those who cannot get too close to the subjects that they are recording.Of course there is a wide variety of lenses ranging from the fairly unsophisticated up to telephoto lenses.Your lens needs will depend on the type of video that you plan on recording.If you are simply interested in capturing moments at the next family reunion, you would probably be wasting your money if you were to buy a telephoto lens.